LONDON, Ont – Third-year guard Omar Shiddo scored a game-high 30 points and fourth-year forward Marko Kovac added 25 points in a heartbreaking 89-88 season-ending loss to the Brock Badgers in OUA West semi-final action on Saturday afternoon.
Following a first round playoff bye, the OUA West 2
nd seed Mustangs (16-8) knew they were in for a shootout against the evenly matched 3
rd seed Badgers (16-8). The Mustangs came out ready to play in the first half, with Kovac leading the charge on both ends of the floor. Collectively, the team pushed through an aggressive inbound pressure by Brock and made contested shots to head into the locker room with a 42-35 lead at the half following an off-balance 3-point buzzer beater by Shiddo.
The Mustangs kept the ball rolling heading out of the half, weathering increased pressure on both ends of the floor by the Brock duo of Tyler Brown and Cassidy Ryan to maintain a 7-point cushion at 68-61 leading into the game's last quarter.
Both sides put on a show for fans in attendance in the final 10-minutes, creating a frenzied atmosphere with a back-and-forth scoring pace. With both sides playing a physical game that saw many players in foul trouble late, Kovacs fouled out with 5:07 left in the contest may have signalled a turning out. As the Badgers size proved a difficult matchup with Kovacs off the floor. Up by 1-point with time expiring, the Mustangs defense surrendered what would be the game winning shot by Brock's Brown with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. A last second tip-in attempt by Western at the other end would seal the deal, with the final score 89-88 in favour of the Brock Badgers.
Brown scored a game-high 26 points for the Badgers, with Johneil Simpson chipping in 23 points of his own.
The loss brings to a conclusion what was an impressive season for the Mustangs that saw the team finish the regular season at 16-8, good for second overall in the tough OUA West conference.
The game also marks the last outings in Purple and White for seniors Jedson Tavernier and Alex Coote.
